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This week we’re sharing our feelings on Twitter! Check out what we think and follow your favorite members of the HC Team. (including me!)
Nearly every single interview I’ve been on has conditioned me to accept that Twitter is now, and it is happening. Like Facebook, it’s become a necessary marketing tool, as well as a necessary part of Gen-Y.
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Joey Hebert
, Real Live College Guy, Emerson College
Yes! I’ve had a Twitter for a while (over a year) and until recently I hardly used it — just sometimes for random musings or talking to my friends. But lately I’ve found it’s an amazing tool for business! As a journalist, I can use it to follow newspapers, magazines, and blogs to get news in real time, and I also follow people I know or look up to in the industry. I tweet HC articles and interesting things I find online, and I’ve been so surprised with how easy it is to connect to people in the industry simply by tweeting about them.
- Amanda First, Life Editor, Cornell University
I tweet occasionally, but I am definitely not addicted to it. It’s a fun thing to do, because it helps you connect with people on minor details of your life. I follow my friends, and then major news sources, a few celebrities, and of course, HerCampus! Normally, I’ll just tweet funny quotes, or random things going on in my day that I feel are somewhat noteworthy.
– Keara Fenzel, Campus Correspondent, Hamilton Colege
Twitter is my top social networking tool — I can’t imagine life without it! I tweet to connect to folks I would never have a chance to interact with otherwise like musicians or industry professionals. I love to post relevant media news or interesting stories about magazines, music and girls’ education. I also run the Twitter feeds for my clubs on campus, Ed2010 and She’s the First*{Hofstra}
- Gennifer Delman, Career Profiles Editor, Hofstra University
With over 4000 tweets in the past two years, I’m an official Twitter addict! I originally started tweeting to stay in touch with friends, but since then, I’ve expanded my follow list to include my favorite magazines, celebrities, and news sources. I also tweet to publicize my blog whenever I update it with a new post. (And, of course, I follow HerCampus!)
- Hannah Orenstein, High School Editor, NYU (incoming)
I don’t tweet as much as I go on Twitter to read other updates. I mostly follow bands because that’s a great way to get info. I also follow news outlets, both local and national — you get breaking news and headlines it’s great. Whenever I tweet (which doesn’t happen often) its mostly just general statements about how my day is going. Not many people follow me, so I don’t usually tweet.
– Laura Baugh, Campus Correspondent, Virginia Tech
I’ve had a Twitter for about two months now and I’ve tweeted exactly one time. I think the whole idea of Twitter is really valuable for businesses (so they can tweet promos and whatnot). But personally, I feel like Twitter is just Facebook status updates on crack. As someone who almost never updates their Facebook status, I’m never sure what I should be tweeting about. Also, whether you’re my best friend or Sephora, I don’t really want to read everyone’s thoughts 24/7. After all, some things are better left unsaid, or un-tweeted.
- Emily Grier, Contributing Writer, Penn State University
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I’m what you might call an amateur tweeter? A tweet-ette? A twit? I have to admit that I’ve never really gotten into Twitter, but I do follow some friends and basic news sources (and “news sources” like the Onion and Steven Colbert). Maybe I’ll finally figure it out — probably just in time for the next bigger, better social tech site to come along and out-date me once again. I’m a 21-year-old grandma. (Maybe I’ll tweet that…)
- Rachel Peck, Contributing Writer, Barnard College
I use Twitter to get news from different sources all day long. I follow news outlets like The New York Times, CNN and Gawker, media sources like People Magazine, iVillage, and Cosmopolitan, celebrities like Martha Stewart, Ellen DeGeneres and Taylor Swift plus my friends! I think having a Twitter is definitely becoming necessary — all of the interviewers for my summer internship asked me if I had a Twitter and who I followed!
– Quinn Cohane, Digital Media Manager, Bowdoin College
I was completely against Twitter at first. It was one more account I didn’t need. Soon some of my journalism teachers and my internship required me to create an account, though. I was still hesitant, but I must admit I’ve hopped on board. It is a great way to stay on top of current events, news and the happenings of your favorite people or companies.
– Sarah Weinberg, Contributing Writer, San Diego State University
I don’t have a Twitter because it just seems redundant to me. Why have two accounts that both allow you to do the same thing (update your status)? I see how it might be cool to follow companies or celebrities but I’m just not that into that stuff where I need to see what’s going on with them all the time.
– Rachel Petersen, Campus Correspondent, James Madison University
Before starting my semester abroad, I used Twitter simply to follow celebrities. As a celebrity gossip junkie, it was this strange phenomenon where suddenly I was able to follow, no pun intended, them through out their days. Now, I use Twitter to keep in touch with friends and share quick thoughts, jokes, comments I know only they would appreciate, despite being an ocean away.
- Kaitlyn Monteiro, Contributing Writer, Syracuse University
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I have a Twitter but I don’t check it much. Not all of my friends are on there so I like Facebook way better! I don’t tweet a lot because I feel too self-centered when I do. Also, I don’t really want to know what that one friend that tweets every second of the day is doing 24/7. Sometimes, people need to step away from the keyboard — life is better with a little mystery!
– Alexa Johnson, Campus Correspondent, James Madison University
I don’t tweet because I don’t think I have anything profound enough to say at all times of the day that I shouldn’t just be saying out loud to my friends.
– Leigh Maneri, Campus Correspondent, Quinnipiac University
Twitter’s a great place to find new nuggets of interesting and often otherwise obscure content from sources you personally curate. It helps me stay ahead of the curve on breaking memes and stay in touch with people I’ve met. I like following people with strong, quirky points of view (such as Lord_Voldemort7, ijustine, sportsguy33, HarvardAsianGuy, charliesheen) who offer very entertaining takes on news/culture/reality. I also follow content providers (HerCampus, sea_of_shoes, day9tv) to get alerted to their newest posts. As for what I personally tweet, it’s a mix of inspirational fodder, personal updates and exciting work-related news!
I LOVE TWITTER!!! I tweet all day and all night about almost everything! A lot of the time I tweet about my day, things I’m doing or have done, how I’m feeling, who I see around campus so pretty much everything and anything. I follow everyone from Chad Ochocinco to the girl in my English class and love reading about everyone’s day and feeling as if I can be in contact with pretty much everyone.
– Kelsey Cummings, Public Relations, West Virginia University
I use Twitter to follow my favorite graphic designers and companies I want to work for in the future. I actually had an assignment in class once and tweeted to as many designers as I could fit in 140 characters for feedback and I got a lot of great advice as well as followers who work in the design community.
– Ashley Henninger, Design Associate, University of Missouri
I hesitated to get Twitter for a long time because I didn’t understand it — I thought it was just like constant Facebook statuses and that seemed boring. Once I finally got it, though, I realized how useful it is. I get almost all of my news from Twitter now, and I follow companies I’m interested in and influential people in journalism. I’m completely addicted to it!
– Laura Hoxworth, Contributing Writer, UNC Chapel Hill
I don’t tweet because being able to say, “Oh no, I don’t tweet yet,” makes me feel like I haven’t surrendered my entire life to social media. There’s not much I think I would benefit from Twitter. Any amazing tweets are talked about at some point later and I could see myself getting out of hand with all the different Twitter users I might follow based on how varied my interests are.
– Peter Frankman, Campus Writer, The University of Iowa